A third-generation Californian, Brian Tweedt, SOC, was born in Orange County, California, and it wasn’t long before he was photographing and directing everyone he knew.

After years of enjoying still photography, Brian started his first video production company, TP Productions, at the age of 15 with a high school friend and his parent’s video camera. After producing numerous short videos, weddings, and countless school plays and sporting events, Brian headed to the University of Southern California’s School of Cinema-Television (now School of Cinematic Arts). Like George Lucas and Robert Zemeckis, Brian’s senior project, “Unearthed,” was selected as one of only four undergraduate projects to be produced at USC. He graduated cum laude in 1998 with a B.A. in Film Production.

After internships with Discovery Channel and Warner Bros., Brian began working as a director of photography on numerous creative projects including short films, commercials, music videos, documentaries and industrials. He began traveling abroad to shoot and direct numerous 5-Star resort destination videos for Marriott and Starwood. He also was hired by such Fortune 500 companies as Cingular Wireless, Sanwa Bank, Wells Fargo Bank, Allergan Pharmaceuticals (Makers of Botox), and Chanel to shoot and/or direct special events and create in-house media.

But it was working as the Sr. Director of Photography on over 750 episodes of Warner Bros. hit television series “ElimiDATE” that established Brian as household name in the emerging genre of “Reality Television.” He developed a new blocking and shooting method called “Triangulation” for the show, and even wrote an article explaining the technique for multi-cam reality series, reprinted HERE.

Charting new territory, Brian shot for the cable channel Current TV on a documentary show called “4th and Forever.” The show chronicles the Long Beach Polytechnic HS football team’s season and it’s student athletes. The show was one of the first reality programs to be shot with the RED One camera, giving it a cinematic feel with heart-wrenching stories. The show was featured in the Long Beach Press-Telegram newspaper with a large photo of Brian appearing on the back page of the sports section (see photo, right).

Helping develop a visual style for new shows has been keeping Brian busy. Recent pilots include “Killer Listing” for Workaholic Productions (went to series as "Twisted and Listed"). Brian also shot an E! pilot called “Celebrity Dreams” with EP Marta Tracy (creator of the Style Network) and a few untitled spec pilots for Emmy-nominated producer Eli Holzman (known for Project Runway, Undercover Boss). He completed a Docu-Soap pilot with EP Alex Duda (know for Jerseylicious) for Endemol USA, set in Hollywood & Los Angeles, and an additional untitled sizzle for Endemol USA. Brian completed two HGTV pilots for Johlt Productions - “Power Broker” and "Flip it to Win It" - and both were picked up for full season orders. And as he loves a new adventure, Brian also shot two pilots for Travel Channel in 2014 called "I Could Live There" for Pie Town and another adventure show called "One Way Ticket" for Johlt. In 2015, Brian shot another pilot "Restored" which was picked up and premiered on DIY in early 2017. Then Brian lent his expertise for a CNBC short-term rentals/flip pilot called "Cash Pad" in early 2018 which was just greenlit and is currently in production as well as a 51 Minds pilot called "Unspouse My House" which is also in production. And most recently, Brian shot a pilot for Pie Town called "The House My Wedding Bought" in early 2019.

Venturing into new media and video on the web, Brian produced and shot nearly 100 hours of content for the new "Front Sight TV" subscription web portal in 2017-18, receiving a Telly Award for one of the series, "Trial by Fire" in 2017. He also completed numerous orders of AOL Media’s “GMC Trade Secrets” which focus on helpful tips from leading professionals such as chef Curtis Stone (The Take Home Chef, The Biggest Loser, Celebrity Apprentice) and designers Kelly Edwards and Kristan Cunningham (Design on a Dime) and Carter Oosterhouse (Carter Can). Brian was awarded a Silver Telly in 2009 and again in 2010 in the “Online Video” category for the production.

Brian joined the ranks as one of the entertainment industry’s elite cameramen as he was accepted into the Society of Camera Operators (SOC) in 2008. This honorary professional organization is composed of only a few hundred camera operators and directors of photography around the world. Brian was recently featured in the "Insights" section of Camera Operator Magazine (published by the SOC) in which he answered interview questions. Check it out HERE.

With his years of remote head experience on the jib, Brian was quick to jump on the drone bandwagon, using those same remote operator skills in the air. An early adopter of the technology, he now owns and operates the DJI Mavic 2 Pro and the larger DJI Inspire 2, and is FAA Part 107 Certified for commercial aerial videography & photography.

Brian attributes much of his success not only to his passion for the visual language and technical knowledge, but also to his uncompromising work ethic and friendly attitude on set.

Operating a small production company (The Birdhouse) providing 8K, 4K, and 2K (HD) cameras and accessories, lights, audio equipment, jibs, dollies, gimbles, quadcopters, teleprompters and more, Brian is able to provide the latest technology and equipment to create beautiful images to capture and tell any story. You can also check out his photo and video tips on The Birdhouse website by clicking HERE.

Brian Tweedt, SOC, continues to excel in the entertainment industry as a director photography who is well adept at camera, MoVI, jib, and aerial operating.

Brian poses with his RED Epic-W 8K S35 Camera in front of Westminster Abby in London, England, in February of 2019. Brian is currently filming (among other things) a documentary on the film "9 to 5," chronicling the women's rights movement of the late 1970's and how it continues today with the #MeToo movement. The film will build to the release of a "9 to 5" sequel (expected to be released sometime in 2020) which will once again feature Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, and Dolly Parton with their younger counterparts who are still experiencing workplace discrimination nearly 40 years later.